Montblanc Homage to Victor Hugo Sepia Brown Ink

 

The Montblanc Writers Edition celebrates the literary giants who have made their mark on world literature through the power and artistry of their writing. The new limited edition pays tribute to the creative talent and cultural legacy of Victor Marie Hugo (1802 – 1885). Considered one of the greatest French Romantic writers, the novelist, poet, dramatist and illustrator developed his own distinctive style of imaginative realism, pairing realistic elements with abundant symbolism. Hugo firmly believed that his mission as a writer was to defend the less fortunate members of society by documenting injustice, using his work to champion the social and political causes of his time. Among his many achievements, he was elected to the Académie française in 1841, testament to his influence on French arts and letters.

While he wrote prolifically in all genres, he is best known around the world for his novels Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris (‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’), that have been adapted in many different versions and have earned an enduring place in popular culture. These two colossal works of French literature have inspired the design of the limited edition Montblanc writing instruments. In addition to storytelling elements drawn from the novels, the collection also pays homage to the author’s personal and private life with elegant references to Hauteville House, his beautifully decorated home in Guernsey.

The author’s novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is set in Paris during the 15th century, tells the story of Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer and his unrequited love for the beautiful La Esmeralda. True to Hugo’s passion for social justice, the novel condemns a society that cruelly excludes the likes of Quasimodo and Esmeralda. - Montblanc

Available at Appelboom for ~$34USD.

Another year, another brown ink. I like sepia browns but I was not super excited about the brown depicted on the box itself. At first glance, it looked somewhat bland. The artwork is very elegant and brings to mind the Notre-Dame de Paris. I really don't like to keep boxes for most things but Montblanc's special edition inks are an exception. The bottles are simple and attractive and they are safe inside the box, even if the box fell off a shelf, the foam inside would more than likely keep the glass intact. They stack and store really well and they look really cool all lined up, each with their own design and color. 

Anyway that's enough about the box. I just think they're neat. I swabbed the ink first to see what kind of shading it would produce and I still wasn't all that excited about it. Although it does shade in heavy applications, I did not feel like it had much character. Le sigh. I decided to ink the Montblanc Meisterstück 90th Anniversary 149 with the oblique triple broad nib. Big surprise (or not) - the shading that the nib is able to achieve got my attention! 

With extra light.

Whoa! Have you ever had an ink that did nothing for you? I judged this ink by this cover. The cover was not terrible, but it wasn't anything to write home about. The ink is funny. It has grey undertones that I tried to capture with the previous and following picture. Apparently the sepia brown is supposed to be chosen for the gargoyles that sit atop the Notre-Dame and I guess if you think of it that way, the grey undertone - especially when exposed to water - makes complete sense.

With extra light.

Ahh such a beauty in its full glory! I really like the color in a nice thick nib. I always smear some water around on ink to see what happens and I didn't realize this ink is fairly water resistant. It might be perfect for those times you don't want to deal with a permanent ink in your pen but you don't want your words to disappear! Despite the water resistance, I found the ink pretty easy to clean out of this pen with the caveat that I don't let my "hard to clean" inks dry out in the pen. Otherwise, the ink is quite well-behaved so I'm pretty pleased overall.

The splats are interesting - it has no sheen but shades nicely.It's a nice walnut sepia, less on the red scale. You can really see the difference when it's compared to two other Montblanc inks: Toffee Brown and Purdey & Sons Single Malt Whiskey. Unlike the Purdey inks (Whiskey & Cigar), this one is not scented, which is great for those who don't want to smell their writing!

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